Some students arrived early into the lunchroom and went straight to the taste test to line up and meet the farmers. When we told them we wouldn’t be ready for another 15 minutes, there were actually a few “aww!”s as they walked away (!).

Once we were ready to go, though, the line hardly stopped. Here’s a glimpse at the first two lunch sections, in quotes (bolded are the middle school students):

“Can we try both colors?” (There were both orange and purple carrots!)

Even the teachers got excited: “I heard these taste like candy.”

“You’re coming back for seconds. Why’s that?” “I like these cause they actually taste like they came out of the ground and not frozen.”

“So you’d really like if these carrots were served here?” “Oh yeah!”

Upon arrival in lunchroom: “Carrots!” (How’s that for an exclamation from a middle schooler?)

“How do you like these compared to other carrots you’ve eaten?” “They’re better. They’re sweeter.”

Just one of 60 hands that voted ‘yes’!

After trying the carrots, the kids could vote on two items: “I liked it!” and “I would eat this if it were offered in the cafeteria line.”

I don’t know about you, but this is the best ratio I’ve heard all week: Out of the 86 kids that tried the carrots in the first round of lunch, 59 said they would eat them if they were offered in the lunch line. That’s a whopping 74%!

Now who was it that said kids don’t like vegetables?

Special thanks to the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia for teaming up with us on this work, and to Georgia Organics members who help make taste tests like this happen. If you’d also like to invest in farm to school work in Georgia, become a Georgia Organics member or become a Sustainer by donating monthly!